Group members read and discussed The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer. Although some of the book is really geared toward university teaching, the group discussed aspects of the book that felt relevant to the early childhood and elementary classroom. One of the issues that arose was the importance of allowing team members an opportunity to troubleshoot/vent/reflect w/each other regularly. The book presents a Quaker model in which a group is only allowed to ask open ended questions of a person who presents a problem they are grappling with (rather than offering advice or comparable experiences). As we discussed, we realized that all of the teams have this kind of opportunity built into their faculty meetings because those meetings take place weekly within the school day, but TIM is only able to have at most bi-monthly after-school meetings which often have to be focused on planning/logistics of immediate concern. Group members in other teams talked about how valuable it is to have the time to discuss issues they are facing with their colleagues. A possible point of action would be looking at scheduling for TIM so that this opportunity for reflection exist there as well.
Potential Outcomes:
Our group discussed w/members of "The Group" that the goal of researching/discussing the topic of teacher reflection had been met to our group's satisfaction. It was decided that the needs of group members would be best served by joining other groups' investigations next year.
Faculty Inquiry Project
3/28/11
Group Members:
Kerah
Kim J.
Tracy
Patrick
Karrie
Topic:
Teacher Reflection
Action Step:
Completed today:
Group members shared articles they had read and discussed implications for BDS.
To be completed by next meeting:
Group members will read and discuss as much as they can of The Courage to Teachby Parker J. Palmer
Potential Outcomes:
Will be discussed when more group members are present. Today we discussed that we may need to better follow the models presented in the research we are reading for this project for ourselves! (i.e. perhaps instead of feeling pressured to come up with outcomes, we should be focusing on what we are learning from the process!)
Attachments:
Notes from discussion/articles
Notes:
Kerah read “The Concept of Formative Assessment” from Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation by Carol Boston. Group members felt that the kind of “checking in” that comprises formative assessment allows teachers to discover when kids are not understanding and change their instruction. This article added to previous readings/discussions about formative assessment by citing research that shows quantitatively that formative assessment improves performance, particularly for students with LD. It connected to an ISACS session Kerah attended about Carol Dweck’s “mindset” theory in that feedback provided as part of formative assessment allows students to focus on improving through effort rather than being locked into low achievement based on ability. The expectation that all students should have the opportunity to perform at high levels is something that is part and parcel of BDS. The article emphasized the importance of both teacher feedback and self-reflection, but group members added peer feedback as well as an important component of formative assessment at BDS. The 4th/5th solar system inquiry project was an example of a formative assessment experience in which all three kinds of feedback really motivated students. The article reinforced many formative assessment strategies that BDS teachers regularly use, including using open-ended, reflective questioning, “think-pair-share,” asking questions with multiple solutions, giving students adequate “think time,” checking for understanding before, during, and after instruction. Group members made the connection that the recommendation that teachers interview students about their thinking related to Project Zero, which Merle and Liz explained at the meeting.
Patrick read “Managing Teaching Loads and Finding Time for Reflection and Renewal” from the Association for Psychological Science by Rosalyn M. King. First half of article was about the major stressors of teaching: losing touch w/self and not having time for reflection on practice. Greatest challenge of teaching is not to let it consume all of our time and energy. Teachers come to accept chronic overload as the norm. Some teachers are finding greater workload leads to less student interaction, which creates guilt and more stress. Staying up to date technologically is another stressor. Recommendations: spend time w/colleagues and students and have something to give each day, find balance, leave teaching on campus and set aside time for relaxation, know what you find rewarding about teaching and try to do this each day, connect with subject matter, to larger purpose, and to students’ daily lives.
Quote of the day!: “ Teaching is a constant learning process. Those of us most invested in this adventure would correlate ‘the joy of sex’ with ‘the joy of teaching and learning’ – it’s always pleasurable, it’s always a high (when it works for teachers and learners), and it’s always different; and, in another realm of analogy, it truly is a ‘religious experience.’
Faculty Inquiry Project
2/28/11
Group Members:
Kerah
Kim J.
Tracy
Patrick
Karrie
Topic:
Teacher Reflection
Action Step:
Completed today:
1 group member shared highlights from an article she read and everyone discussed.
To be completed by next meeting:
All group members will read another article.
Potential Outcomes:
Will be discussed after more articles have been presented.
Attachments:
Notes from discussion/articles
Notes:
Tracy read “Teacher Reflection: A Perspective from the Trenches” by Kathleen M. Sharp. The article was about the experience of an African-American teacher in an almost all white school. The focus of her reflection was about how to teach about diversity meaningfully and continually within this homogenous population. She discussed her need to reflect on how to teach about diversity in ways that met the needs of the community and did justice to the culture about which she was teaching rather than just in ways that were emblematic of her personal experience.
Group members discussed that these questions have been relevant in other, more homogenous school settings they have worked in (Englewood, Winnetka, etc.). We also discussed that literature/story can be an avenue for teaching meaningfully about diversity in classrooms even when the student population is not very diverse. The need for reflection about how to address students’ perceptions about gender roles and self-imposed limits was also raised.
Faculty Inquiry Project
1/24/11
Group Members:
Kerah
Kim J.
Tracy
Patrick
Karrie
Topic:
Teacher Reflection
Action Step:
Completed today:
2 group members shared highlights from articles they read and everyone discussed
To be completed by next meeting:
2 more articles will be presented by group members
Potential Outcomes:
Will be discussed after more articles have been presented
Attachments:
Notes from discussion/articles
Inquiry Group Notes – Teacher Reflection
1/24/11
1) Subjective aspect of assessment led Kim J. to look for other tools. She will show us copy of rubric she found for EC (template that shows building levels of competence – This kind of assessment could be as simple as 5 min of observation a day and could be data for progress reports 2) Assessment informs what we do in the classroom 3) In PE, instructions are broken down into 4-step process and kids assess each other at each step. 4) Because of critiquing processes in Specials, BDS kids are very comfortable being assessed by/assessing their peers 5) Idea of videotaping skills yearly in PE to track progress 6) Key ideas from “Three Paradigms of Assessment” by Frank Serafini www.frankserafini.com/PubArticles/ThreeParadigms.htm
Shift from assessment as measurement to assessment as inquiry
Time issue:
Requires time, resources, administrative support, opportunities for teachers to dialogue/collaborate, peer support
Requires time for teachers to read/research, discuss, try out new methods, reflect
Inadequate time is allotted for professional development
When this kind of assessment is valued, it is easier to justify the time required to implement it
Importance of portfolios, student-led conferences, learning response logs, classroom designed rubrics as vehicles of student and teacher reflection, self-evaluation, and goal setting
Allows students to take responsibility for their learning and help determine assessment criteria
Assessment should not stop classroom instruction
Teachers need to be part of the process of determining the ways they will generate info about their students as well as the purposes and audiences of the assessments
Purpose of assessment as inquiry is to allow teachers to use assessment to reflect in order to make decisions about curriculum and instruction
“Teachers need to be able to discuss their doubts and inquiry questions without being seen and unknowing or incompetent”
April/May 2011
Group Members:
Topic:
Action Step:
Completed today:
Potential Outcomes:
Faculty Inquiry Project
3/28/11
Group Members:
Topic:
Action Step:
Completed today:
To be completed by next meeting:
Potential Outcomes:
Attachments:
Notes:
Faculty Inquiry Project
2/28/11
Group Members:
Topic:
Action Step:
Completed today:
To be completed by next meeting:
Potential Outcomes:
Attachments:
Notes:
Faculty Inquiry Project
1/24/11
Group Members:
Topic:
Action Step:
Completed today:
To be completed by next meeting:
Potential Outcomes:
Attachments:
Inquiry Group Notes – Teacher Reflection
1/24/11
1) Subjective aspect of assessment led Kim J. to look for other tools. She will show us copy of rubric she found for EC (template that shows building levels of competence – This kind of assessment could be as simple as 5 min of observation a day and could be data for progress reports
2) Assessment informs what we do in the classroom
3) In PE, instructions are broken down into 4-step process and kids assess each other at each step.
4) Because of critiquing processes in Specials, BDS kids are very comfortable being assessed by/assessing their peers
5) Idea of videotaping skills yearly in PE to track progress
6) Key ideas from “Three Paradigms of Assessment” by Frank Serafini
www.frankserafini.com/PubArticles/ThreeParadigms.htm